After an indeterminate amount of time, Rio came to with half-open eyes in the dark, old room. The cracked black stone walls were covered in cobwebs, the smell of burnt wood and dried herbs filled the air, and the heavy silence of the room was broken only by the crackling of the fireplace.
Rio with a weak and pained body, struggled to rise from the large bed.
She took a deep breath, but when she tried to lean on her hands, her gaze fell on her severed wrist, carefully wrapped in bloody bandages.
Her heart tightened, and the image of the Starman with his black cloak and blazing orange eyes came alive in her mind like a nightmare. To avoid sinking into fear and shock again, Rio refrained from staring at her hand for too long. With trembling, bare feet, she stepped onto the cold, black stone floor. She threw her white coat, which was lying in the corner of the room, over her shoulders and slowly left the room.
The dark corridor was covered with black stones and cobwebs; the smell of dampness and decay burned her nose, and anxiety stabbed into her chest like a dagger. Rio paused for a moment and looked around until a faint light at the end of the corridor caught her eye.
With trembling steps, she walked toward the light and reached a staircase leading to the lower floor. The ruined castle, with its worn columns and cracked walls, smelled of centuries of suffering and oblivion. Each of Rio's steps on the stone stairs created a hollow sound, as if the castle was mourning its past.
Minutes later when she reached the bottom of the stairs, familiar voices filled her ears. Nadia's loud and anxious voice and Ayhan's determined tone. Rio cautiously entered a large hall with a high, curved ceiling that seemed broken under the weight of time. A massive fireplace in the center of the wall had faint flames, and its light cast dancing shadows on a large map of the continent of Parmis hanging on the wall. Nadia and Ayhan were seated around a rotten wooden table, facing the mysterious woman with white and black hair that shone like a stormy cloud in the fireplace's light.
Nadia with a voice full of despair:
"You mean there's no way for us to go back?"
The mysterious woman replied in a slow and cold voice:
"He destroyed that gate. The closest gate to here is the one in the human empire, the city of Niluram."
Ayhan immediately said:
"Then we'll fly. We don't need gates. We'll go back ourselves."
Rio now fully in the center of the hall, her face drowned in sorrow and depression. Nadia, upon seeing her, fell silent and lowered her head, as if she couldn't face that broken expression. But Ayhan stood up and ran toward Rio.
"Rio, are you okay? Come sit."
Ayhan took Rio's arm and carefully guided her to an old wooden chair. She handed her a glass filled with a strange red drink.
"You lost a lot of blood. Drink this; it'll make you feel better."
Rio drank the liquid slowly; its sharp, metallic taste burned her throat, but a small strength returned to her body. With a weak and broken voice, she thanked Ayhan and then turned to the mysterious woman:
"Thank you for saving us. I don't know how to thank you."
The mysterious woman shook her head, her turquoise eyes fixed on Rio.
"You can thank me by telling me who you are and how you ended up here."
A heavy silence filled the hall. But finally, Nadia took the lead and began to recount, from the moment the Starman appeared like a deadly shadow in the elves' empire to their escape from him, and revealing their own and their family's identities. Rio and Ayhan each told parts of the story, their words full of pain and fear as if each sentence reopened a fresh wound.
The mysterious woman was immersed in their story, her gaze occasionally falling on the large white wolf lying in the corner of the hall. When the story ended, she let out a deep sigh, ran her hand over her face, and whispered:
"Those two idiots really learned nothing from me?"
Then she stood up, poured herself a glass of the red drink, and while holding it, pointed to the large map of the continent of Parmis on the wall. Her finger pointed to the southernmost island of the continent, which looked like a detached stain.
"We are here. Since the storm will continue in the southern parts of the continent for the next two months, it's impossible to fly back to your homes. The only way is by sea and land."
Nadia jumped up upon hearing this.
"We have to go. Thank you for helping us, and I swear I'll repay you one day."
The mysterious woman walked to the center of the hall and passed by Rio. Rio, whose face was drowned in sorrow and depression, fixed her dark, sunken eyes on the woman. The fireplace's shadows danced on her face, and her lips trembled with pain and grief. With a broken and weak voice, she said:
"He let me live because of you!"
Everyone looked at Rio in surprise. The mysterious woman stopped and turned toward Rio, saying in a sarcastic tone with mysterious eyes:
"What do you mean?"
Rio raised her head, her eyes full of deep pain, as if each word came from the depths of her being.
"That man killed hundreds to get to me, but then he gave up after seeing that wolf. Why? I'm sure it's not because of the wolf itself. He let me live because of you."
Rio slowly stood up; her body was still weak, but her voice became determined.
"Who are you?"
The mysterious woman gave a sarcastic smirk and walked toward the fireplace. The white wolf, like a loyal shadow, stood up and went to her side, standing beside her. While running her hand over the wolf's head, she said in a calm but mysterious voice:
"You may be like Rio Asteroid, but you're much smarter than that man."
Suddenly, Nadia jumped up, her eyes wide with shock.
The mysterious woman paused for a moment, as if words were stuck in her throat.
"Since I taught your foolish fathers a few things, they probably told you about me?"
Silence covered the hall like a heavy curtain. Rio's dark eyes widened, and her breath caught in her chest.
Nadia and Ayhan, too, stared at the woman like statues, as if the world had stopped for a moment. The mysterious woman gave a kind and beautiful smile to her wolf, running a finger over its head.
"I am Valentina. The dragon you know as the strongest in the world."
Valentina's words echoed in the hall like thunder. Rio's face froze in shock, and her breath caught in her chest. Nadia and Ayhan stared at her like statues, as if the world had stopped for a moment. The fireplace's light danced on Valentina's white and black hair, and her turquoise eyes gleamed like two living sapphires, both calming and terrifying. The white wolf beside her growled softly, and the castle's space, with its cracked stone walls and dancing shadows, seemed to witness a historic moment that would change the fate of Rio and the others forever.